This invention relates to the field of aircraft escape slide systems, and more particularly to retrofitting manually operated escape slide girt bars with a mechanism enabling them to engage automatically and release with foot pedal action.
When emergency aircraft slides are deployed, whether manually or automatically, one end is held within the airplane by a girt. A girt is a loop in the material at the end of the emergency slide intended to remain in the airplane where it is held by a girt bar.
On some aircraft with narrow body design, the girt bars for entry door and service door mounted escape slides are manually placed in floor mounted brackets for flight operation. This requires a steward or stewardess to position the girt bar in floor mounted brackets, creating the possibility of human error or injury. For those times on the ground when the escape slide system is to be inactivated, the girt bar is manually released from the floor mounted brackets and stored in hooks on the escape slide container.